1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to material processing machines and, more particularly, to a multi-functional tool assembly for a processing tool of a material processing machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known to provide material processing machines to reduce materials such as a waste processing machine to reduce waste material. For a waste processing machine, the waste processing machine typically includes a rotor assembly for reducing the waste material as the rotor assembly rotates. An example of such a rotor assembly for a waste processing machine is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,863,003, issued Jan. 26, 1999, to Smith, entitled “WASTE PROCESSING MACHINE”. In that patent, the rotor assembly includes a rotor having a plurality of spaced pairs of mounting arms. The rotor assembly also includes a processing tool mounted to each pair of mounting arms. An example of a processing tool is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,845,931, issued Jan. 25, 2005, to Smith, entitled “MULTI-FUNCTIONAL TOOL ASSEMBLY FOR PROCESSING TOOL OF A WASTE PROCESSING MACHINE”. In that patent, the processing tool includes a tool holder attached to the mounting arms of the rotor assembly by fasteners. The tool holder has a pair of spaced arms extending radially with a tool for reducing waste product attached to one arm and a wear bar or raker for depth limiting guiding attached to the other arm. Typically, the tool has a head, a shaft, and a waste reducer attached to the head by suitable means such as brazing. The shaft of the tool is extended through an aperture in the arm of the processing tool and secured thereto by a fastener such as a nut.
In some applications, the force on the waste reducer may cause the brazing to give way and the waste reducer may become detached from the head. This is due to shear forces acting on the waste reducer. The shear forces produce a sideways force vector acting on either side of the waste reducer. This causes the brazing, which is in compression, to be tensioned and give way, which is undesired.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a single multi-functional tool assembly in a material processing machine for reducing material and aggressively outputting the reduced material. It is also desirable to provide a multi-functional tool assembly for a material processing machine that reduces or eliminates the material reducer from disengaging the processing tool when reducing material. It is still further desirable to provide a multi-functional tool assembly that reduces or redirects the shear force vector acting on the material reducer. Therefore, there is a need in the art to provide a multi-functional tool assembly for a processing tool of a material processing machine that meets at least one of these desires.